Published on December 16, 1999 Mystic River Press by John Brooks Many local sailors celebrated a very Merry Christmas two weeks early at the annual Mystic River Mudheads Christmas Party, held last weekend at the Quiambaug House. With a capacity crowd of over 350 people, there were reportedly over 100 disappointed sailors that had to be turned away from the "last Mudheads party of the century." The Mudheads' annual Christmas Party event has without a doubt become one of the most popular "sailing" events of the season, known not only for a "A" list of attendees, but also incredible organization. Make sure to reserve your spots early for the year 2000 party!
The Mystic River Mudheads Sailing Association is now best known for their sponsorship of the popular Wednesday Night Race Series, which is sailed during the summer months in Fishers Island Sound. They have an active calendar of events, including a very well run summer weekend regatta named the Fishers Island Sound Regatta. The club flag officers this past year include Don Wilkinson as Commodore, Paul Connor as "Vice," and Chris Field as "Rear." Recent Past Commodore Val Fast keeps track of the racing results, and is credited with implementation of many ideas that have resulted in the growth in quality of club organization and events.
For those with Internet access, the Mudheads are on line at www.mudhead.org. The web site is one of the most interesting sailing related sites around, and is maintained by "Web master" Frank Intelisano. If you've got kids, the web site ends up getting listed in your "bookmarks" just after lego.com!
"Surfing" the Internet for sailing related sites can be a fun way to "navigate" around the world wide web. It also lends a little validity to the stolen nautical clichés. While I am no expert, the Sailing World/Cruising World site is a good place to start, as are any of the good club sites like www.mudhead.org. Most production boat builders and one design classes have informational sites, as do major races and events such as the Newport Bermuda Race or Key West Race Week. And of course there are a lot of "boats for sale" sites for the dreamers among us. For those who are trying to keep an older production boat together (like I am), there are a number of "how to fix it" articles that can be easily referenced - complete with photos of how your boat could look if you were as handy as the guy "showing off" his work online.
At the end of the year, it is perhaps appropriate to thank many of the people that make it so much fun to enjoy life on the water around here. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is just intended to jog some memories.
Thanks to the boatyard crews who haul and store our "big boats" for the winter, and take the time to give the poppets a little tightening after a winter rain storm, or call when a cover is getting a little loose.
Thanks to the race organizers and race committees (and party "galley slaves") who do the work so that the racers can have fun racing.
Thanks to the long suffering (some of them) skippers who keep the boat up to snuff, and cover fees and lunches for their loyal crew, and don't yell too hard when the crew drops a winch handle on the gel coat.
Thanks to the loyal crews that show up on time, good weather or bad, and work together as a team for the fun of it.
Thanks to the volunteers that make Junior Sailing programs go, even when they have to deal with kids who may not be demonstrating the kind of behavior that parents think they have instilled in their little darlings.
Thanks to the staff and volunteers of Mystic Seaport Museum, for keeping so much of our prized nautical tradition alive.
And last, but by no means least, thanks to the Mystic River Press for putting up with me for another year, and for keeping a commitment to "cover the waterfront" for the Mystic/Noank/Stonington area.
Division Winners from the 1999 Eastern Connecticut Sailing Association Offshore Racing Circuit are as follows:
- I - Baboon (J-35), Bos Powell
- II - 2 Thirsty (Soverel 33), John Coughlin
- III - Factory Girl (Santana 30/30), Bill Canning
- IV - Phoenix (Evelyn 26), Toby Doyle
- V - Secret (Custom), Bruce Kuryla
- VI -Beau Che (Catalina 36), William Thomas
- VII - Salud (Pearson 30), Reinhard Sarges
- VIII - C'est la Vie (Elite 32), Thomas Doyle
- IX - Starchaser (Hunter 34), Dick Steinhilber
- X - Cygnus (Pearson Triton), George Carlson.
Secret, Factory Girl, and Salud were the top three boats in the overall results.
